Building Bridges
by ellkayjay
Summary: A reunion story set when the gang are around 32, where Mary Anne and Kristy lost contact in high school. Each chapter will probably be from a different character's perspective. Rated T for possible future themes. Let me know what you think.
1. Kristy

A/N: This is my first attempt at a BSC FF. I haven't read the entire series, so I don't know how much stuff is in character or not. I really enjoyed writing this, and will be updating soon, hopefully (work permitting). It's a reunion take on the BSC, when the gang are aged around 32. Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to the Babysitters Club, nor any of the characters or the original storylines. I only wish I did.

* * *

**Kristy**

I sat myself in front of the television with a cup of tea and my laptop. I'd spent the day working hard, trying to pull together all of the ideas that I had had for my new charity event, and I was exhausted, but I wanted to check my emails and see if there was any further information on my college reunion. I was excited to go; I couldn't believe that it was a whole ten years since we had graduated. Opening up my email folder, I noticed that I had seven new emails.

"Spam, spam, rubbish, spam," I said aloud to myself as I read down the list. "Amazon, spam, and, oh!" I was shocked when I noticed the name attached to the last of the emails. Mary Anne Clarke. My hand hovered over the mouse as I considered what this email might say. Mary Anne and I had been best friends since we were babies, we lived next door to each other until my Mom got remarried and we moved into a mansion on the other side of Stoneybrook, the town in which we grew up. We remained good friends through middle school, but during high school, things changed. Part of the reason that we were good friends for so long was that we were similar, both of us developed more slowly than many other girls our age; although Mary Anne had a boyfriend throughout middle school, neither of us were very experienced when it came to boys, and I guess I always thought that we were both a bit more naïve than the other girls. But then in high school, Mary Anne changed. She was no longer with Logan, her long-time boyfriend, and she started dating lots of different boys, some much older than her. We ended up having a huge falling out, and then in the summer before junior year, she moved with her family, all the way to California. Her stepsister Dawn had lived in California for most of her childhood, moving to Stoneybrook when she was 12, but had returned to California before we even finished middle school. Mary Anne's dad, Richard had been offered a fantastic job opportunity in California, and seeing as Dawn and her brother Jeff were there, Dawn's mom (Mary Anne's stepmom), had jumped at the chance of moving out there to be closer to her kids. Mary Anne also jumped at the chance, she was so much more grown up by then that California seemed like a dream to her, much better than sleepy old Stoneybrook.

Our club, the Babysitters Club, was long since defunct by this point. I had wanted to continue with it, but we lost Dawn when she moved back to California, and then Mary Anne said that it didn't really fit in with her schedule. Abby fell out with Claudia, and although Claudia and Stacey and I wanted to keep it going, it proved impossible; with the huge client base that we had built up, three sitters just weren't enough. So we dissolved the club, and just sat for people when we were asked to. Stacey, Claudia and I all remained fairly close throughout high school, even though our interests were different. Stacey and Claudia were always so much cooler than me, but the fact was that it had always been that way, and they never resented me for liking sports or just wanting to dress in ratty old jeans and a sweatshirt. Mary Anne had always liked me for who I was, but as she began to change, she started to see me differently. I have not set eyes on either Mary Anne or Dawn in almost fifteen years. They very rarely visit Stoneybrook anymore, as there is no family left for them to visit (Dawn's maternal grandparents died many years ago). The last time I saw Mary Anne was the day before she left for California, when my mom drove to her house to say goodbye to her parents, and we had an awkward goodbye moment. She sent me a birthday card on my 21st birthday, and I returned the sentiment. Since then the contact has been fleeting, a Christmas or birthday card here and there, and always back and forth between our parents' addresses; I have no idea where she is living now, and I don't suppose she knows where I am either.

So needless to say, the sight of her name on an email sitting in my inbox was a shock, to say the least. Of course, she was Mary Anne Clarke now. I knew this, I knew that she had got married, as she mentioned it in a brief note in a Christmas card two years ago. "I'm Mrs Clarke now, Taye and I married in Barbados in September. Hope you are well."

"Well here goes," I thought, and clicked open.

_Dear Kristy, (she wrote)_

_I hope you don't mind me emailing you. I got your address from Abby, who looked me up a few years ago. She said that you and she sometimes email each other, so she gave me your address and implored me to use it. That was actually a while ago, and I have had it on a piece of paper in my bureau since then, wondering whether or not to bite the bullet and actually use it. _

_How are you? I know that we send each other Christmas cards every year, but for someone that was my best friend for the first fourteen years of my life, a polite Christmas card doesn't really cut it. I miss you Kristy! I have missed you since we drifted apart, but I have always been too proud to admit it. I jumped at the chance of moving to California back then partly because I thought that you no longer wanted anything to do with me. And of course, you would have been totally justified if that was the case. I know that I turned into a grade-A bitch Kristy, just the sort of girl that we used to hate before we got to high school. What can I say? All I can do is apologise, and hope that maybe, somehow, we can make a brand new start. _

_You may be wondering what has suddenly prompted this change of heart, or at least this attempt at a renewal of our friendship. The truth is, I have been ill recently. I was diagnosed with breast cancer sixteen months ago, and although I am now in complete remission, the whole thing led me to re-evaluate my life, and think about what was important to me. Life is far too short for any kind of grudge, especially one from high school when you can barely remember what you are arguing about._

_I'd love to hear back from you Kristy, and hear all of your news. I know that apart from the depressing revelation about my illness, I haven't imparted any news, but if you reply to this email and tell me that we can make a start at being friends, then I will tell you all about my life and what's going on with me._

_Your old friend_

_Mary Anne. _

I have to say that I am not one for crying. I never have been. Funnily enough, Mary Anne was always the one who cried at the drop of a hat. But I definitely had tears in my eyes as I read this message from her. Part of me was crying because I was sad that Mary Anne had been ill. I had seen cancer at its worst when it claimed my grandmother. And I hated the idea of sweet little Mary Anne experiencing anything like that. The other part of me that was upset was experiencing an attack of nostalgia, as I thought about how close Mary Anne and I had been through all those years of growing up next door to each other. I was so glad that she had sent this email, and my mouse clicked reply and my fingers were dancing over my keys before I knew what was happening.

_Dear Mary Anne,_

_I am so glad that you decided to email me. Firstly, let me say that I am so glad that your cancer is in remission. I have seen the illness firsthand, when my grandmother (Nannie, remember her?) died a few years ago of bowel cancer. I now work for a cancer charity, organising events and fundraisers. Anything I can do to try and get rid of this awful disease is a tribute to my Nannie._

_I also want you to know that I don't hold any sort of a grudge for what happened all those years ago. I wish that I knew then what I know now; that it's not worth falling out over the silly little things. But hindsight is a wonderful thing, right? I'm just glad that we're back in touch now, and, in true Kristy style, I have the beginnings of a wonderful plan! But more on that later. Let me give you a brief update of my life right now!_

_I am living in New York City now! Jealous much? (Remember how much you wanted to live in the city?) As I said, I work for a cancer charity, and have done for the last three years. I went to school at the University of Connecticut, and majored in Business Management. I could probably have opened my own business when I graduated, I had all the know-how from the degree, and Watson offered to back me financially, but I just couldn't get enthusiastic about anything. I even thought about some sort of sitting business, but I just couldn't make anything work, and ended up taking a few different jobs here and there, before I found my true calling – charity work. I bet you never thought that I would be doing something like this, right? Well I love it? I get to work with really great people, and I feel like I am making a real difference._

_My mom and Watson are still living in Stoneybrook (they pass your Christmas cards onto me every year!). Sam and Charlie are both married now and both working hard to provide for their ever growing families. In true Thomas style, they aren't content with just a couple of kids each! Sam has twin girls and a baby boy that he and his wife adopted from China (Mom and Watson provided a good example when they adopted Emily!). Charlie's wife is currently pregnant with their fourth baby, they have three boys already so Diana (Charlie's wife) is really hoping for a girl this time! Karen (remember little Karen?) is working as a model (!). You know how precocious she always was? Well she has found an outlet for that, she has people around her all the time telling her how wonderful she is! To be honest, she has never really hit the big time that she hoped for, catwalk work has always remained a bit of an elusive dream for her, but she's fairly good natured about it, and is now talking about packing it all in and trying her luck in Hollywood. We'll see! David Michael is a doctor, he's currently in Guatemala working with Doctors Without Borders. He's an inspiration really, I admire him so much. That just leaves Emily Michelle (she prefers Em these days!) and Andrew (or Andy). Em is just about to graduate from Yale, she's a bit of a braniac is my little sister! She isn't sure what she wants to do next, but she's going to have a lot of fun working it out, I'm sure. Andy graduated from MIT a couple of years ago and is currently in California, working in some super important computer job. I really don't understand it all that well, so I just nod and agree when he starts talking to me! The last time we were all together was at Christmas, but it's Watson's 70__th__ birthday soon, so we are all going to back in Stoneybrook for a big party! _

_Which brings me to my fantastic idea. How about if you and Dawn (and your dad and Sharon) come to Stoneybrook for the party? It's going to be huge anyway, Watson has so many friends and family that we are removing the fences to the house next door and using their garden as well as ours to house guests. It will be a fantastic reunion for us; Stacey and Claudia are already invited as we have stayed in touch. I will even try and get Abby, Jessi and Mallory to come, if I can get in contact with them. What do you say, the BSC, back together again? The date of the party is the 22__nd__ July, and I am pretty much not going to take no for an answer, unless you tell me that you have a vacation booked that week!_

_Your old friend_

_Kristy_

I read back over my email, and hit send. I had that buzz of excitement that I only got when my mind was whirring over a plan. I really hoped that Mary Anne and Dawn could make it to the party!


	2. Mary Anne

A/N: Sorry I have taken so long to update this. I never intended to leave it this long, things just sort of got in the way! This is a short chapter, I had a bit of trouble with it as I didn't really know what I wanted to do with it. I have a firmer plan for the next ones though, so keep an eye out - they will be quicker than this one, I promise.

Disclaimer: I still don't own the BSC.

* * *

Mary Anne

I printed off the booking confirmation for the flight to JFK airport. Taye and I would be landing there on the 20th July, hiring a car and driving to Stamford, where we were staying the night before driving to Stoneybrook on the following day. We had booked a small bed and breakfast in the town over from Stoneybrook for a couple of nights.

I was beside myself with excitement, and wasn't sure if I could wait another three weeks to see my old friends. I had been so glad when I had got the reply from Kristy. I guess in my heart of hearts I knew that she wouldn't ignore it, I had once known her well enough to know that, whilst bossy and overbearing sometimes, she was also one of the kindest people that I knew. But a small part of me had worried that she would still be holding a grudge over what happened between us all those years ago, and so when I saw her reply in my inbox, it was a great relief! I cried (of course I cried), and immediately replied to her, telling her that Taye and I would love to come to the party, and that I would speak to Dawn about it too. Dawn was as excited as I was about the idea of a return to Stoneybrook, although her job meant that she couldn't fly at the same time as us, instead she would be arriving in Stoneybrook on the day before the party.

Unfortunately, although Kristy had extended the invitation to my parents too, they were not going to be able to make it. My dad had suffered a heart attack last year, and was still not in the best of health. He was doing much better now, but flying was really out of the question, and driving across the country wasn't really an option either. It was a shame, as I knew both he and Sharon would have loved to have seen their old friends almost as much as I was eager to see Kristy and the others.

As I was pinning the travel details to the notice board in the kitchen, I heard the front door open. Taye always arrived home from work around about the same time, six-fifteen, and I waited for him to come through to the kitchen.

"Hey, honey," he said, giving me a quick peck on the lips. "Good day?" I worked as a teacher in an elementary school, and as school was out for summer, I had been at home for most of the day.

"A very good day, thank you. I booked the flights to Connecticut, just now in fact. The hotel and bed and breakfast are also booked, so we are all set! I can't wait for you to meet my friends and see where I grew up!"

"I can't wait either. I'm just glad that you and Kristy seem to have buried the hatchet finally." Taye knew all about my relationship with Kristy, and had been gently hinting at me for some time that I should try and make contact with her.

"I know, I am too. And I am going to get to see Stacey and Claudia too, and maybe even Jessie and Mallory. It's going to be fantastic, though a little odd at first I should imagine. I just don't know how I am going to wait another three weeks! Especially as I don't even have work to take my mind off it!"

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You are very industrious; you will find something to do for the next few weeks. As long as you remember not to push yourself too hard." Taye gave me the look that I had seen so many times over the last year and a half.

I rolled my eyes good naturedly. "Taye! Honestly, I am fine. You know that the doctor has given me the all clear, more than once, and that I am as good as new. I promise not to start bungee jumping or white water rafting, but you really don't need to wrap me up in cotton wool!" I berated him gently. I knew that he just did it out of love, and that he trusted me to know my limits.

We sat down to dinner and had a pleasant evening together. My time with Taye was always spent pleasantly. We had met through mutual friends four years earlier, and while it had not actually been love at first sight, it had come very close. We hit it off immediately, and although it's a cliché, I felt as though I had known him forever. The day we got married in Barbados was the best day of my life. I am the first to admit that I went off the rails a little when I was a teenager, but looking back I can see that I was never really happy with any of the different boys that I dated. Logan was different, we were the best of friends, but all good things come to an end, and of course it would never have lasted as I moved to California. I had all of the usual experiences with boys in college – I had a couple of boyfriends, but nothing serious. And then, when I met Taye, everything seemed to fall into place. I knew that we would end up together, and I knew that we would be happy together. Our personalities complemented one another perfectly.

I knew that Taye was right. I would be able to find plenty to do to amuse myself in the coming days. For one thing I had to buy Watson a 70th Birthday present, and pack, and make sure that everything was organised here before we took off. Just another three weeks before I would see all my old friends (and Stoneybrook) again!


	3. Claudia

Claudia

I answered the phone with a smile on my face. Kristy and I spoke on the phone fairly regularly, so it hadn't been a shock when I had seen her name flash up, but it was still a pleasure to hear from my oldest friend. However, when she had told me that Mary Anne had been in contact and had confirmed that she was coming back to Stoneybrook for Watson's birthday party, I almost fell off my chair.

"No way? She's actually coming?" I said to Kristy.

"Yep, all the way from California. And not only that, Dawn is coming along too. Can you believe it?" I could hear the joy in Kristy's voice as she told me the news. I knew how hard she had taken the falling out with Mary Anne all those years ago.

"I can't believe we are finally going to have a BSC reunion. You, me, Stacey, Mary Anne, Dawn. Did you hear back from Abby, Jessi and Mal yet?" I really wanted the whole gang back together again; it had been far too long.

"Yeah. Mal and Jessi are almost definitely coming, but Abby is away. You know how it is with her job, she never knows from one week to the next where in the world she is going to be." I was disappointed, but I was still in fairly good contact with Abby; it hadn't been over fifteen years since I had last seen her, as it had been with Mary Anne and Dawn. Plus Mary Anne had been a founder member of the club, we had grown up in the same street, and I had known her since we were babies. There was a special connection there.

"Well, it's going to be a special day whatever happens. Watson and your mom will be glad to have the whole family in one place for once won't they? And how about you? Are we finally going to meet the mysterious Alex?" Kristy had recently met Alex, but apparently none of her family had yet had the pleasure. "Your mom is always telling mine that she's waiting for you to settle down and concentrate on something other than your work. Taking Alex home with you would be the perfect opportunity to show her you are doing just that." I knew that Kristy had always been reluctant to take anyone home. She was just shy about making her feelings public.

"Well, we'll see. It's work again you see. Alex is another one that is always on the go, never in one place long enough to make permanent plans. I'll try my best, and I'll let you know." It had taken a while, but I had finally got Kristy to see that talking to her friends about her love life was a good thing, and not something to be scared of. And now that she had told me all about her fledgling relationship, I wanted to meet Alex.

"Make sure you do! Oh, I have to go, I have another call coming through. I'll speak to you soon. Bye." I ended the call with Kristy and looked to see who the incoming call was from.

"Hi Janine, how's it going?" My sister tried to call me once a week, she was currently in Japan researching some sort of anthropological project. As expected, Janine had become a scholar, studying at the University of Chicago and then working there as a professor. She was really interested in our heritage as Japanese-Americans, and so most of her research was based in that area.

We spoke for a while, I told her all about Mary Anne and Dawn attending Watson's birthday party. She wouldn't be there herself, as she still had another six months left in Japan. However, she was delighted to hear my news.

Janine and I had grown incredibly close as we got older. We were brought together by the sudden death of our father, when I was 24 he had died in a car accident; my mother was understandably devastated, and Janine and I both had trouble coming to terms with it. It had brought us much closer together than we had ever been before, and we supported each other through our grief, as well as trying to ensure that Mom was OK. It was a long time ago now, and Mom was doing fine now. She has always said that she won't marry again, but sometimes I worry that she is just saying it because she worries what Janine and I will say. As weird as it would be to see her married to someone who wasn't Dad, enough time had passed that I knew we would both be OK with it.

I pulled out my diary and flipped to the 22nd July. I had it written in there , 'Watson's 70th Birthday – Stoneybrook.' Between now and then I had meeting after meeting to get through. I loved my life, but sometimes I just wish I had more time for the things that I loved doing. I had always thought that I would be an artist, and I guess in some ways I had fulfilled that ambition. But now I ran an art gallery, in Providence, Rhode Island, and frankly it wasn't all I had hoped it would be. The sad, cold truth was that being an artist just didn't earn me enough money. I always ended up doing other jobs, like waitressing or bar work, just to survive. This was not the life I had wanted, I wanted to make art my career. Then I met my boyfriend, Grayson. It had started off fairly casually, we met while I was working in a bar, and ended up sleeping together fairly quickly. I had really liked him, but for whatever reason he wasn't really ready to commit, so we were just sort of friends with benefits for quite a while. When I got fed up with just being a booty call for him, I gave him an ultimatum. To my surprise, he chose to quit messing me around, and we became an official couple. We've been together for five years, and we've been living together for three. I knew that it was time to grow up, and quit being a struggling artist. So I started running this small art gallery for a friend, and the truth of the matter is that I have hated it since the day I began. It was stifling, I had no time to paint, or sculpt, or draw. It's not me at all, and I keep thinking about how I should quit and start doing something I really enjoy. But then the bills show up, or the rent has to be paid, and I know that Grayson can't afford to support me while I find myself. So right now I was just trying to get on with it and be a grown-up.

I flipped back to 22nd July and began to doodle stars and hearts around the entry for Watson's birthday. The next three weeks would be boring as hell, but I knew that I could get through them by thinking about this party, and the BSC being together again!


	4. Stacey

A/N: The next chapter from Stacey's perspective. I know that it's taking a while, both to update and to get along to the party, but I really want to establish the characters first - that's the story as far as I am concerned and the party is just to bring them all back together! Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: As usual, I don't own anything.

Stacey

"Sure, Tanya, tell Mr McGill that the figures will be ready for tomorrow's meeting." I replaced the phone on its cradle and went back to what I was working on.

Sure, it was strange, calling my father Mr McGill to his secretary, but it was something that he insisted upon. He said that it was important to separate being his daughter from being a member of staff. Besides, everyone else called him Mr McGill, why shouldn't I? Working for my father wasn't exactly how I had imagined my life turning out. I guess I always knew that I would end up working with numbers and maths in some capacity; maths was my best subject at school and it was what I had majored in at college. However, the truth was that if Dad had not come to my rescue and given me a job, I probably would have ended up flipping burgers somewhere.

College on the whole had been a disaster. I had been so excited to go, as much as I loved Stoneybrook, and even New York, I saw college as an opportunity to escape: escape my overprotective parents and their constant worrying; the sleepy North East where nothing ever seemed to happen; and finally some of the silly little mistakes I had made in high school. So I took myself off to the University of Miami.

The problems started almost immediately. I just wasn't used to that level of freedom; I had always had my parents looking over my shoulder, worrying about what I was eating, where I was going, and with whom. Now I could do what I liked. I got a fake ID and got drunk, as so many other kids my age were doing. However, there was the age old problem of my diabetes, as usual, restricting me, and I soon learnt that I just couldn't drink like my friends were doing. I hated it, I hated being the odd one out yet again, just as I had been all those years before when my diabetes was first diagnosed. I soon worked out ways around it – there were some types of alcohol that caused less problems than others, and then there were the illegal drugs that I started taking. At first it was just a little pot; a friend of mine who used it regularly introduced me to it. That same friend also introduced me to Sean, a friend of hers who lived locally. Sean became my first serious boyfriend and I ended up practically living with him in his apartment during my sophomore year.

Things degenerated pretty fast from then on. Sean managed not only to get me into some harder drugs (cocaine and pills primarily), but he also convinced me to get involved with some friends of his who were "fashion photographers." When he first told me that they wanted me to model for them, I was flattered. Warning bells hould have begun ringing immediately, deep down I knew what kind of guy Sean was, so I should have guessed what sort of people his friends were. Maybe if I had had some of my old friends around – Claudia, Kristy or Mary Anne – they could have warned me. But my new friends were not like them. They were like Sean. So I went along with it, started "modelling." Needless to say, the type of modelling that I was doing was not fashion. It was largely topless modelling, quite a lot of nude work, and none of it was particularly tasteful. At the time I was modelling, I was taking more and more drugs, and of course my school work was suffering badly. Halfway through my junior year my parents staged an intervention, and managed to get me to see sense and put me into rehab. Luckily, they never found out about the photos, as far as they knew, I had just fallen in with a bad crowd. I have always been eternally grateful to them for everything they did for me, but I knew it would destroy them to find out about the modelling. Of course, I know that they photos are out there somewhere, but I hope and pray that they will never see them.

Throughout this awful period in my life, I managed to stay in contact with Kristy and Claudia. In fact, Claudia had a lot to do with getting me clean. She had been to visit me in Miami and seen what was happening, modelling, drugs and all. They know everything, and have stuck by me through it all.

Now, as my thoughts turned back to my old friends, I started to think about next week's party. Watson would be 70, and the BSC would be together again. I would be travelling to Stoneybrook at the weekend, and staying with my mom and step-dad. Mom had stayed in Stoneybrook and remarried four years ago, and I had acquired a new stepbrother and stepsister.

I forced my mind back to my computer screen and told myself to concentrate. Mr McGill would not be happy if I didn't have these accounts read for tomorrow's meeting!


	5. Dawn

Dawn

"You will tell Watson and Elizabeth how sorry we are not to be there, won't you?" Richard said to me as I passed him a drink of water. He took two tablets and swallowed them down. "It would have been so nice to see them again, and all you young ones back together again."

"Young? Richard, you know we are all in our thirties now? Hardly young! But yes, I will of course pass on your apologies." I knew it wasn't just missing the party that bothered my stepdad. He hated that his health was holding him back from doing the things he wanted to do.

"Well you know you and Mary Anne will always be my little girls! No matter how old you get. Or at least until one of your gives me a granddaughter. Or a grandson for that matter…"

I gave a theatrical groan. It was an established routine for Richard and my mom to tease Mary Anne and me about giving them grandchildren. We had both been married for a few years now, and Richard and Mom were old fashioned enough to epect children to follow marriage after a suitable interval.

But Mary Anne had had her cancer to deal with, and while I had no doubt that one day she would become a mom (and a great one at that), it hadn't been at the top of her list of priorities recently.

As for me, well funnily enough I was pregnant! My husband Jethro and I had decided a couple of months ago to start trying for a baby, and it had happened far quicker than either of us had expected. Today was the day that we had decided to tell Mom and Richard, and then we were heading over to my dad's to share the happy news with him and Carol.

I would tell Mary Anne that she was going to be an aunt when we caught up with her and Taye in Connecticut, and of course then I could share the news with all of my old friends too. It was going to feel so odd going back. I had never fallen out with Kristy and the others in the same way that Mary Anne had, I had just lost contact with them as you tend to do when you move across the country. Anytime that I had thought about getting back in contact with them, I thought about Mary Anne, and felt somehow disloyal towards her. Besides, I had plenty of friends here in California who filled the gap that was left by my BSC friends. Jethro had been one of those friends. We had met in high school and become close friends straight away, and then we had fallen in love. We had been together ever since, and had got married when I was 25. I never thought that I would marry so young, but Jethro was my soul mate, and when he proposed, I knew that there was nothing that would make me happier than to be his wife. I usually left all the sentimental, lovey dovey stuff to Mary Anne, but I loved Jethro as much now as I did the day I married him, perhaps even more. And now we were having a baby.

Jethro and my mom had gone to buy food for dinner, leaving me with Richard. Whilst Mom didn't want Richard to feel like she was babying him, she didn't like to leave him on his own unless strictly necessary. Mary Anne and I took it in turns to stay with him whenever Mom needed to be gone for long periods of time, and Jeff helped out whenever he was in town. He was working in Los Angeles now, as a set designer on a television series, and so he was busy most of the time but got home with his partner, Thom, as often as his job would allow.

"We're back! I hope you've set the table!" Mom's voice came through the front door and I jumped to attention. I had spent the whole time that they'd been gone daydreaming about just how fabulous my life as that I had completely forgotten to set the table.

"Uh, yeah, sure!" I shouted back, and heard Jethro laugh. We sat down to a lovely dinner that Mom had got from the local health food shop that had just opened a deli. Luckily, as a fellow native Californian, Jethro enjoyed healthy food as much as I did.

As we finished eating, Jethro caught my eye and smiled. I took this as my cue to break the happy news.

"Mom, Richard, Jed and I have something to tell you." As soon as I said those words, I saw two sets of eyes light up. I knew that they had guessed, but I also knew that they wouldn't ruin this moment by pre-empting me. "I'm pregnant. We're going to have a baby!" Mom screamed a little while Richard just beamed. It felt good to make the two of them so happy. Jethro took my hand as Mom left her seat and enveloped us both in a huge hug.

"Oh Dawn!" As she pulled away I could see tears in her eyes. "I'm so happy for you both."

"As am I. Congratulations Dawn, and you too Jethro. You're going to make fantastic parents." Hugs and kisses dispensed with, Mom disappeared to the kitchen to find something to toast our news with.

"Here's to Dawn and Jethro!"


	6. Mallory

**Mallory**

I put the finishing touches to my make up, and ran my fingers through my curls. The all important second date was finally happening, and while I might be a respectable 30 years old, I felt like a lovesick teenager. The first date had gone so well, but I had almost given up hope of ever seeing him again, after we kept having to postpone and reorganise another date. Now it was finally happening and I had butterflies in my stomach at the very thought of seeing him again.

Tonight I was going to ask if he was free for Watson's party, and if so, I was hoping he'd come as my date.

A buzz on my intercom alerted me to the fact that he was here, right on time. I buzzed him up and took one more look in the mirror as he made his way up the stairs. "Hey Mallory," he said as I opened the door. He leant forward and kissed me on the cheek. "How are you?"

"Hi Logan, I'm great thanks. You?"

"I'm fantastic, glad that we have finally managed to make his date happen," he said, smiling.

"Me too! I am all set, shall we make a move?" I didn't know where we would be going on our date, Logan had said that he had an idea and wanted it to be a surprise.

"Sure, let's go. We can take my car." I followed Logan down the stairs, butterflies fluttering away. Nobody had been more surprised than me when Logan Bruno had asked me out on a date. He had come into the Stamford Public Library, where I worked, looking for a book, and he recognised me immediately. I had never known him _that _well when we were kids, he was Mary Anne's boyfriend, and even though he was an associate member of the BSC, I couldn't honestly say that we were friends. I had been at an age when being around boys was kind of embarrassing, and I certainly wouldn't have held a conversation with him. When Logan and Mary Anne broke up, the BSC didn't see Logan much, and he was two years older than me, so our paths didn't cross at school. I had therefore been surprised that Logan even recognised me, never mind ask me on a date. We had had a short, polite chat about what each of us were now doing with our lives, during which I managed to ascertain that he was still single, and when he left, I thought to myself what an attractive man he had grown into. I never thought for one minute that he would come back to the library two days later and ask me out on a date. I said yes immediately, then went home and called Jessi, to check it was OK to go out with a friend's ex.

"Of course it's OK!" Jessi had said laughing.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Shall I try you why? Firstly Mary Anne went out with Logan when they were essentially children. She dumped him years ago! And secondly, technically you are no longer friends with Mary Anne. We lost contact with her years ago, so you can't let it be a factor!"

I could always rely on Jessi to be sensible and calm me down. And of course, she was completely right.

I was glad I had listened to her. Our first date had been great, we didn't run out of things to talk about once, and there was no awkward moment at the end of the date. Logan kissed me on the cheek and said that he would call me the next day, which he did. And now we were finally having a second date. We chatted easily on the way to wherever it was we were going, and then suddenly, we were there.

"There's an outdoor cinema here this weekend, showing classic movies. Tonight is "Bringing Up Baby." I remembered you telling me how much you like Cary Grant, so…"

"Wow, Logan! It's perfect!" I said, beaming with joy. Before I knew what I was doing, I had leant in and kissed him.

"I'm glad you like it Mallory," he whispered in my ear, and we walked hand in hand to a spot on the grass. Life had just got very good indeed!


	7. Jessi

**Jessi**

I laughed as I put the phone down. Mallory, despite being 30 years old, was acting like a lovesick teenager! She really liked Logan, but now she was worrying again about Mary Anne, because Logan would be going to Watson's party as Mallory's date. Of course, I had told her again that it wouldn't be a problem; Mary Anne was now very happily married, and was therefore not going to be worried about who Logan was dating.

Life was never dull when Mallory was around. I was so glad that we had remained such close friends. Now we were both working and living in Stamford, we saw each other quite regularly.

I opened my diary and checked my appointments for the week. Since taking over the running of my old dance school, I never seemed to have a minute to myself. I had, however, made sure that I had next weekend completely free for Watson's party. All of my classes for Saturday were completely covered; luckily I had some wonderful staff working for me. My schedule for the week ahead contained meetings and dance classes, and while I always wished there was time for more dance classes than meetings, I knew that the meetings were an essential part of the business. This week included an appointment with a representative from Juilliard, who was interested in one of our girls; and many other meetings with local businesses who were looking to sponsor our winter show. In addition to this were all my scheduled classes. Everyone had always assumed that I would become a professional ballerina, and it was my dream for so long. I studied dance at college in New York, and I loved every minute of it. However, when I was 22, I suffered a bad ligament injury that kept me away from ballet for 18 months, and I never recovered sufficiently to make it as a pro. Of course, I was devastated at first, but I soon came to appreciate what I had in life. I was fit and healthy, and while I couldn't make my living dancing, that did not mean that I could never dance again. I took an evening course in business management, always planning to open my own school. Then my old ballet teacher contacted me to tell me that she was retiring. At first, I took over the running of her school, as a manager, and then, three years ago, I purchased the business.

I sometimes wondered what my life would have been like if I had take some time to concentrate on my personal life. Thirty years old, still single, and with little hope of ever marrying. I lived alone and often thought how nice it would be to share all my professional success with someone special. However, other than a couple of meaningless flings throughout college, I had never really had a serious relationship. Babies were now beginning to seem as though they would never come along for me. Still, Becca, had three gorgeous children, and I was their favourite aunt. A girl can't have everything in life, can she?

Work kept me busy, and I had Mallory, and some other close friends that I socialised with as often as I had time. However, as time went on, it seemed that everyone was getting married. Even Mallory – she would not want to jinx her new relationship with Logan, but I could tell how much she liked him, and it sounded like he was really into her too. But I was never one to get too maudlin about things. I was very happy with life.

And I was excited about the forthcoming party. I didn't get to see Kristy, Claudia or Stacey as often as I would have liked, and obviously I hadn't seen Mary Anne or Dawn in years. Let the reunion commence!


End file.
